I raised 3 sons. During that time, a fourth child apparently lived in our home that I never was able to find. He was credited with responsibility for doing all sorts of things. Judging from his name, he must have been foreign born. It was Not Me.
When I would ask, “Who made this mess?” I was told it was Not Me. “Who left the peanut butter out on the counter?" Not Me. “Who left the gate open and let the dog out?” “Not Me.” I never could find that little guy, but he was certainly active in our home.
As my sons have grown into adulthood, they have learned one critical aspect of true maturity, accepting responsibility for their actions. We are always ready to claim the credit for positive outcomes, but only strong, confident individuals are willing to acknowledge their mistakes and failures. This is not only true of individuals; it is true of nations as well. We find this in the Tao Te Ching, written about 2,500 years ago by Lao Tzu.
61
When a country obtains great power, it becomes like the sea:
all streams run downward into it.
The more powerful it grows, the greater the need for humility.
Humility means trusting the Tao,
thus never needing to be defensive.
A great nation is like a great man:
When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.
Having realized it, he admits it.
Having admitted it, he corrects it.
He considers those who point out his faults
as his most benevolent teachers.
He thinks of his enemy as the shadow that he himself casts.
If a nation is centered in the Tao, if it nourishes its own people and doesn't meddle in the affairs of others,
it will be a light to all nations in the world.
As a nation, we would like to think that we are indeed a light to all nations. At times we may have been, but our history is full of dark periods. Without question, our greatest flaw has been the subjection and suppression of non-white populations.
Consider our history: we began by forcing Native Americans off their lands and attempting to exterminate them as they resisted. Simultaneously, we imported Africans as slaves and accumulated wealth for whites by exploiting the labors of the enslaved. The majority of monuments honoring prominent confederates were erected during the Jim Crow era between the 1890’s and 1950’s as tangible signs of intimidation. Often, the lynchings of black men were attended by thousands in a festive atmosphere as a form of entertainment. Access to employment, housing, education, public accommodation, and so much more were withheld or severely limited for blacks and other minorities.
Our track record is so stained and well-documented that it is impossible to deny. Instead, we now live at a time when people simply don’t want to talk about it or allow flagrant abuses to be taught in our schools. Why? I have pondered this for some time and think I know the answer.
Harvard has developed an online exam known as the implicit Association Test (IAT). It quantifies the bias level of test takers related to specific target groups such as gender, race, sexual orientation, body weight, and others. Consciously attempting to attain a less prejudicial score only impacts the results minimally. The most effective positive influence on the outcome is to read favorable stories about the subject groups prior to taking the exam.
What does this tell us? Being open to positive challenges to our preconceptions reduces our prejudices. Conversely, if we are invested in clinging to our cherished stereotypes and derogatory attitudes, we must avoid any information that does not validate our current beliefs about those we view as inferior to ourselves. It appears that the current aversion to honestly reflecting on our nation’s bleak racial history is simply a desperate effort to cling to completely indefensible prejudices.
Furthermore, the effort to prevent the teaching of our nation’s racist culpability and the resilience of the black and other minority communities is intended to promote social ignorance that can perpetuate longstanding prejudices. Apparently, some do not want to trust our children with the truth regarding this critical issue. This reflects the same strategy that has been employed by every tyrannical regime: rewrite history and control the hearts and minds of the children.
What many fail to understand is that criticism of our past is not an attack against the nation. Instead, it is a call to transform our culture and strive towards a mutually supportive society. Pretending that we are a great nation is no substitute for actually becoming one through honest and courageous self examination.
If our nation ever hopes to achieve true racial maturity, we will need to exercise a deep sense of national humility and implement the steps presented in the Tao Te Ching, recognize, admit and correct our tragic racial misdeeds. To date, civil rights legislation has been enacted despite strong opposition. We will arrive at true maturity only when we can collectively and enthusiastically celebrate the advancement of those who have been systematically disenfranchised.
Germany has a great deal to teach us about national humility. Do you suppose that there are monuments honoring Hitler? Are schools or streets named after Nazi leaders or generals? No, because they have fully acknowledged their national shame over their actions during WWII. The only monuments are to the victims of the holocaust. Furthermore, it is illegal to display the swastika
Contrast this to the United States where rebel flags are ubiquitous. Schools, streets, counties and even military bases have borne the names of confederate politicians and members of the military. Confederate monuments are gradually being removed from prominent places, but the process has generated harsh opposition. Sadly, the ‘Southern cause’ has been so romanticized that it defies the thorough denunciation it deserves.
They say that it is always darkest before the dawn. Perhaps our current social climate will dissipate and a new age of racial enlightenment will be revealed. Given the rapidly changing demographics of our country, and the fact that the white race will eventually cease to be the majority, this will occur sooner or later. I sincerely regret that I will not live long enough to see it happen.
For those who may be willing to expand their awareness of the grueling path we have trodden, I would encourage reading the following. They are a minute sample of the available record but offer ample illustrations of some of the barriers that have been laid down before the African American citizens of our nation, and why their triumphs should be celebrated.
Sarah’s Long Walk: the Free Blacks of Boston and How Their Struggle For Equality Changed America, by Stephen Kendrick
Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools that Built the Civil Rights Movement, by Elaine S. Weiss
Caste: The Origins Of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson
